


We Were Meant To Be Break

by kaleidomusings



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-05-01 23:54:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5225969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaleidomusings/pseuds/kaleidomusings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky sighs when he notices the figure huddled in front of his shop. </p><p>At first he thinks it's some drunk or a homeless person seeking shelter from the rain, but when he makes his way closer to ask them to leave, they look up and any irritation Bucky may have been feeling disappears. It's just a kid, with the bluest eyes he's ever seen, nearly hidden as they are under a curtain of floppy blond hair. But what really catches his attention is the purple bruise on the kid's cheek.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Were Meant To Be Break

**Author's Note:**

> I don't usually write these kinds of stories, but I made sure that the child abuse is not explicit. And Steve is underage when he and Bucky meet, although they try to keep their relationship as platonic as possible until Steve is old enough. However, I understand that it can still be triggering for many people, so please proceed with caution.

Bucky sighs when he notices the figure huddled in front of his shop. 

At first he thinks it's some drunk or a homeless person seeking shelter from the rain, but when he makes his way closer to ask them to leave, they look up and any irritation Bucky may have been feeling disappears. It's just a kid, with the bluest eyes he's ever seen, nearly hidden as they are under a curtain of floppy blond hair. But what really catches his attention is the purple bruise on the kid's cheek.

The kid must realize what he's looking at, because he springs to his feet, as if to bolt at a moment’s notice. Except now that he's standing up, Bucky can see the damage in its entirety. The kid is thin and lanky, dressed in faded jeans and an oversized shirt, and shivering from the cold. He's pitiful to look at really, and his expression is so damn scared, Bucky knows he can't leave this kid to fend for himself. His folks would skin him alive if the guilt didn't finish him off first. 

"It's freezing out here," he says. The kid jumps at the sound of his voice, but thankfully doesn't run. "Wanna come in?"

A wary look crosses the kid's face. "What for?"

"I own this place," Bucky says patiently. He grew up with three sisters after all, so patience is practically ingrained even when someone is acting smart with him. "You won't find better coffee anywhere else this side of Brooklyn."

The kid opens his mouth to protest, but sneezes violently instead. Five times, rapid fire, one after the other. Bucky quickly herds him inside and has him sit down at the counter while he gets to work. The kid is still trying to argue that he's fine around chattering teeth, so Bucky mostly ignores him, except for when he throws a towel at him because the last thing he needs is the kid catching pneumonia on his watch. 

"You don't look like much a coffee drinker and it's way too late for it anyway," Bucky explains as he slides a cup of hot chocolate and a pastry in front of him. The kid glances at him, still wary but hopeful. "It's on the house, kid."

"I'm not a kid," he protests and a lesser man might have rolled his eyes at such a childish retort. Bucky, however, knows better than to push the issue. But he does feel a little smug when the kid takes his first sip and actually moans at how good it tastes. 

"So what's your name?" Bucky asks. 

The kid demolishes half of the pastry before responding, licking his fingers as if to savor every taste. "Steve." 

He grins. He's pretty awesome when it comes to baking and he knows it. "Nice to meet you, Steve. I'm Bucky."

Steve smiles back, making him look painfully young. Bucky can't imagine anyone being a big enough asshole to hurt some poor dumb kid like this, who still licks his fingers after eating sweets like a five year old. "Thank you," Steve says after finishing the pastry and downing the hot chocolate. 

There's a spot of cream on his upper lip. Bucky pretends that it's not at all distracting. "Can you tell me what you're doing out in a rain at this time of night?"

The heavy silence that follows almost makes him wish that he hadn't asked. It's even worse when Steve starts to cry, big fat tears rolling down his face. 

"Hey," Bucky says quickly. He stumbles around the counter and pulls Steve into his arms. "Hey, you're all right. I've got you."

"I'm not going back," Steve mumbles against his shirt, when he's composes himself enough to form words again. 

Bucky tries not to think about how wet his shirt is with tears and snot and pets Steve's damp hair instead. "Then you don't have to," he says. 

And he means every word.

\--

"Since when did you become a cradle robber?" Natasha asks when she comes into work the next morning and sees Steve wiping down tables before they open. He smiles at her hesitantly before glancing in Bucky's direction, as if asking for help.

Bucky shakes his head. Natasha is frightening and the sooner Steve accepts that, the better it'll be for him. "He said he's almost eighteen," he says.

Natasha scoffs. "So did I when I ran away from home."

Fortunately, Bucky is wise enough not to mention that Natasha's parents were evil incarnate and that she was smart to get as far away from them when she did. Natasha doesn't often talk about the life she lived before she and Bucky met, but -from what he can gather- she escaped horrors no teenage girl should ever have been subjected to.

But Steve doesn't seem to be lying to him and, according to his ID, he's older than he looks. Which is a relief, because Bucky was starting to worry that he might actually be a cradle robber when he took Steve home with him last night. After taking a shower, he had stepped out of the shower, wearing his clothes, and Bucky gave his the bed before spending the night on the couch before he did something criminal. 

He felt a little bit better the next morning when Steve told him that he was nearly eighteen, but it didn't change the fact that he's still a kid. Bucky doesn't plan on touching him until he's legal, and most likely not even then. He should wait until Steve can take care of himself and learn to survive without Bucky's help. Besides, he doesn't want to rush it. Steve should have the chance to grow as a person before getting tangled up in a mess like Bucky. 

Natasha seems to read what he's thinking from his face, because she squeezes his shoulder briefly as she passes. It's not much in the way of reassurance, but at least he knows that Natasha has his back. And that she doesn't think he's a complete pervert. Just a moderate one.  

All things considered, it's better than he could have hoped for.


End file.
